Kent County Commissioner Improves Attendance Amid Controversy

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.– Investigators are still looking into the case against Kent County commissioner, Gary Rolls. He’s accused of sexually assaulting a woman when she was a child.

Since the investigation, which came to light in September, Rolls had been known to miss a meeting, or several. His attendance history has been pretty spotty the past seven months.

FOX 17 discovered he’d missed six meetings dating back to last September 27th through January 3rd of this year. It was back in September when a 28-year-old woman requested a protection order against Rolls for abuse she claims began when she was 12 years old.

In a previous interview, Kent County commissioner Jim Saalfeld told FOX 17 he believed Rolls’ absences might have been due to his legal issues.

“I think the citizens have the right to understand what that means and I think they also have the right to expect their elected commissioner to be at a meeting,” said Saalfeld.

At Thursday’s Kent County Commissioners meeting, Rolls was there, but he showed up late after roll call. He actively listened to discussions from fellow commissioners, but remained quiet, not saying a word. And, as soon as the meeting wrapped up, he split, without a chance for FOX 17 to speak to him.

The Kent County Board of Commissioners office confirmed Rolls has been at every meeting, including the sub committee he sits on, which is the Legislative & Human Resources board, since our investigation, except for that January 3rd session.

Michigan State Police is continuing their investigation into the sexual assault.